ADVANCED NEURODIAGNOSTICS

Students work along side Dr. Phil Epstein to collect data involved with the treatment of TBI patients and their progression recorded through a multitude of mediums including QEGs.

Some of the students involved with Dr. Epstein's work include:

Monet Lee is a junior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. As a violinist, she has received scholarships from the Music Institute of Chicago and the Summer Portals program at the Hotchkiss School and has performed for individuals such as Pope Benedict XVI, Prince Lobkowicz of Prague, and Justin Timberlake. Currently, she is a member of the school orchestra, Student Council and field hockey team and is a principal violinist in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. In her free time, Monet likes to read and write.

Prithvi Ramesh is a senior at Rolling Meadows High School. He was born in India, as were his parents. He is actively involved in his school business club, DECA, in addition to peer counseling, NHS, and Varsity Tennis. In his spare time he likes to follow current events, watch sports and play an Indian percussion instrument called the tabla.

Anvesh Jalasutram is a Junior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School and an intern at Advanced Neurodiagnostics under Dr. Phillip Epstein. He enjoys participating in the Illinois Science Fair, researching topics including solar panels, disease-inducing protozoa, and cancer. In the future, Anvesh aims to become a doctor specializing in neuroscience.

Michael Kolman was born on July 8th, 1994. His parents grew up in Odessa, Ukraine and immigrated to the United States in 1978. He is majoring in Nutrition at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and he dreams of being a doctor one day. In his spare time, he does Krav Maga (Israeli combat fighting), plays tennis, and loves to paint.

Neli Farahmandpour is a rising senior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School. She has held an interest in medicine ever since the fifth grade. Neli has greatly enjoyed the opportunity to do research this past summer with Dr. Epstein and her fellow peer interns. In her free time she enjoys reading, watching documentaries, and debating current events with her friends. She is excited to apply to colleges soon, and hope to one day become a cardiologist.

ABSTRACT

The study was comprised of 11 patients, aged 20-60, who suffered from psychologically or physically induced cognitive deficiencies. We evaluated their lifestyles according to the surveys they were given at the beginning of their treatment period. Their responses reflected their family history, upbringing, education, job history, and previous substance abuse. Due to the fact that the patients’ responses to the survey cover a wide spectrum of lifestyle factors, this experiment is relevant to some degree to most people within the aforementioned age range.

The experiment includes patients undergoing Neurofeedback treatment. To conduct the experiment, we recorded data from the patients’ examination history, including their qEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalography) brain scans, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans, IVA (Integrated Visual and Auditory) tests, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) tests, SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) scans, and PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scans. We compiled the patients’ data and analyzed it to gauge their improvement throughout the course of their treatment and the effectiveness of Neurofeedback. Results show that the more often patients went into the office for therapy, the more they improved. In addition, the more enthusiastic and open-minded for treatment the patient was, the more balanced their brain and the more consistent their brain waves were as a result of treatment. Moreover, patients that had other psychological systems of support such as a coach, therapist, or psychiatrist, were better able to cope with the stressors of daily lives and were thus better able to respond to Neurofeedback.

Unfortunately, as this experiment only covered a single facet of each patients’ lives, we were not able to track the patients’ diets, exercise routines, and sleep schedules along with their other lifestyle habits. As a result, further research can be done to augment the effectiveness of Neurofeedback. Nonetheless, our research provided strong and conclusive evidence that suggests that Neurofeedback is an effective form of treatment for psychological and physiological disorders in anyone who has the desire to improve his or her brain activity.